The African Union (AU) on Friday rejected calls by Britain and the US to intervene in Zimbabwe, where the president, Robert Mugabe, is conducting a slum clearance program that has left hundreds of thousands homeless.
Desmond Orjiako, a spokesman for the AU, which represents 53 African states, said: "I do not think it is proper for the AU commission to start running the internal affairs of members' states."
He suggested there were various good reasons for the demolitions, including preventing Harare turning into a slum.
The UK's Foreign Office, which has been leading a campaign against Mugabe, has expressed frustration over the last four years at the failure of South Africa and other AU members to act against -- or even criticize -- Mugabe in spite of human rights abuses and rigged elections.
But Britain's position was weakened yesterday by a Zimbabwean archbishop, who urged it to stop sending failed asylum seekers back to the Mugabe regime.
The Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius A Ncube, said those deported would be persecuted by the Mugabe regime as "traitors."
"People who were asylum seekers in Britain and are returned have been detained by police in Zimbabwe, some being tortured and forced to confess that they were in anti-government activities."
Ncube told the UK's Channel 4 news that Zimbabwe was beginning to resemble Pol Pot's Cambodia. He said Mugabe's policy of driving people out to the countryside "is extremely cruel and it is very much like Pol Pot and this will lead to people starving."
The UK's Home Office has temporarily backed down on its threat to send an opponent of Mugabe back to Zimbabwe today, which critics said could have led to his possible torture or death.
But yesterday it refused to reverse its policy of deporting people to whom Britain had refused asylum, which has triggered hunger strikes by at least 16 Zimbabweans held in detention.
The most high-profile detainee, Crespen Kulingi, who was due to be deported yesterday, has been given a temporary reprieve. Kulingi, 32, is an adviser to the leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change.
He claims he suffered injuries so severe at the hands at Mugabe's henchmen while detained in Zimbabwe that he is now in a wheelchair.
The delay in deporting him came after an intervention by the British Labor MP Kate Hoey.
Hoey said: "I have no doubt that if Crechance he will be killed, but more definitely he would be locked up and probably tortured."
The Home Office has been put under more pressure by remarks by the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw.
Condemning Mugabe's policy of forced removals of people from areas which voted for the opposition, Straw said it was "of serious international concern."
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
PINEAPPLE DEBATE: While the owners of the pizzeria dislike pineapple on pizza, a survey last year showed that over 50% of Britons either love or like the topping A trendy pizzeria in the English city of Norwich has declared war on pineapples, charging an eye-watering ￡100 (US$124) for a Hawaiian in a bid to put customers off the disputed topping. Lupa Pizza recently added pizza topped with ham and pineapple to its account on a food delivery app, writing in the description: “Yeah, for ￡100 you can have it. Order the champagne too! Go on, you monster!” “[We] vehemently dislike pineapple on pizza,” Lupa co-owner Francis Wolf said. “We feel like it doesn’t suit pizza at all,” he said. The other co-owner, head chef Quin Jianoran, said they kept tinned pineapple
RSS